Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2001 >Chapter4 Section2.2

As for university education, the 1998 revision of the Educational Personnel Certification Law and other related laws renewed university curriculum for training so as to develop teachers with a sense of responsibility, excellence in a certain subject and an ability to deal with practical issues at school. The new curriculum has been fully applied to university entrants since April 2000.

Concerning recruitment, prefectural boards of education, including the boards of education in 12 designated cities, have been revising selection methods in order to examine not only candidates' knowledge but also other unique abilities, and have been putting more emphasis on personality evaluation. More specifically, they have been increasingly taking into account the results from interviews and practical tests as well as various social experiences of candidates rather than simply the results of academic tests.

Teachers should always be trying to improve their education abilities through practice and their own efforts. Boards of education, for their part, are required to offer training programs necessary for teachers to fulfill their responsibilities in response to a range of issues. Each prefectural board of education, including the boards of education in 12 designated cities and the core cities, has thus established systematic training programs including induction training for beginning teachers, so that they can receive training in accordance with their experience, area of specialization and occupational ability.

  On 1 April 2001, the National Center for Teachers' Development, an independent administrative institution, was established in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki as a body to comprehensively manage teacher training on behalf of the central government. The center provides training programs for teachers who are expected to take a leadership role in each prefecture as well as those on urgent issues related to school education.